Hello everyone,
I am a complete fishtank rookie, setting up a 37 gallon tank for the first time. I got red fluorite and gave it what I thought was an appropriate washing, but apparently I didn't realize what I was dealing with. After putting the fluorite in the tank, and filling it with water, the water is completely opaque, clouded with red fluorite dust. There are no plants or (obviously) fish in the tank yet, but I do have a filter set up and running. I've asked a couple of different people how to deal with this and gotten totally different suggestions. My questions are:
1) Is this a lost cause? Do I need to drain the tank, take out the fluorite and re-wash it? I would like to avoid doing this only because of how much of a pain it will be, but if its what needs to be done of course I will do it.
2) Some have suggested that it will take care of itself naturally? I have the filter running but it doesn't seem, after about 18 hours, to be doing much to filter the red out of the water.
3) At the store they said I needed a gravel vacuum and an additive that would bind the dust particles together and make them large enough to be caught by the filter. A fellow customer told me that that advice was nonsense, and that this was a common problem that will sort itself out with time.
Has anyone dealt with this rookie mistake before? Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated.
I am brand new to the forum, so please forgive me if this has been covered before. My searches didn't turn anything up.
Thanks for your help!
I am a complete fishtank rookie, setting up a 37 gallon tank for the first time. I got red fluorite and gave it what I thought was an appropriate washing, but apparently I didn't realize what I was dealing with. After putting the fluorite in the tank, and filling it with water, the water is completely opaque, clouded with red fluorite dust. There are no plants or (obviously) fish in the tank yet, but I do have a filter set up and running. I've asked a couple of different people how to deal with this and gotten totally different suggestions. My questions are:
1) Is this a lost cause? Do I need to drain the tank, take out the fluorite and re-wash it? I would like to avoid doing this only because of how much of a pain it will be, but if its what needs to be done of course I will do it.
2) Some have suggested that it will take care of itself naturally? I have the filter running but it doesn't seem, after about 18 hours, to be doing much to filter the red out of the water.
3) At the store they said I needed a gravel vacuum and an additive that would bind the dust particles together and make them large enough to be caught by the filter. A fellow customer told me that that advice was nonsense, and that this was a common problem that will sort itself out with time.
Has anyone dealt with this rookie mistake before? Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated.
I am brand new to the forum, so please forgive me if this has been covered before. My searches didn't turn anything up.
Thanks for your help!
